A University College Dublin (UCD) medical student has described how a sexually explicit image of her was sent anonymously to more than 170 university staff accounts — and separately shared among hundreds of students.
In an interview with Prime Time, Caitlyn (not her real name) said that she was the victim of rape three years ago after which a photograph was taken without her knowledge or consent.
Caitlyn said she did not report the alleged attack to Gardaí at the time as she thought she wouldn't be believed.
She said the first time she heard that the image even existed was two years later, when she received a call from gardaí to say it had been sent anonymously to more than 170 staff accounts in UCD.
"My world fell apart. It was horrendous," she said in an interview that airs on RTÉ One at 9.35pm.
"Seeing the image, that photograph, I think my world shattered in a matter of an instant - looking at my naked, bruised body, lying there."
Caitlyn said the accompanying emails included abusive language and derogatory comments about her appearance. She said the messages suggested she should take her own life and used slurs that she found deeply distressing.
The emails were sent from a ProtonMail account, a paid-for encrypted email service that can make tracing senders immensely difficult.
UCD told Prime Time that it "acted immediately" when it became aware of criminal activity, contacting Gardaí and attempting to delete emails before they were opened – in many cases they went into spam or junk folders.
UCD also said it had put systems in place to redirect future emails sent from the specific accounts.
Nevertheless, Caitlyn says the image arrived directly to her own UCD email address several months later.
"Waking up one morning seeing them in my inbox was shocking, to say the least, and incredibly difficult to deal with. They were continuously [in] my own UCD student email for over a week before I myself just blocked the whole server because it was becoming too difficult."
On how the sender or senders were able to circumvent the systems put in place, UCD said that it could not implement a blanket filter on ProtonMail accounts, from which legitimate emails would also be sent.
It added that "The perpetrator(s) took significant steps to remain undetected and to avoid security features which normally detect and block unsolicited or malicious emails. The messages were sent from multiple different email addresses which contained words that ordinarily would not be permitted by an email service provider."
Some words were misspelled or disguised, possibly to avoid an email address abuse check, according to the statement.
In November last year, the image was shared again, this time to a WhatsApp group of 300 UCD students of which Caitlyn was a member.
She said that her world "shattered again" upon seeing the picture shared to so many of her peers. Caitlyn said that the image was accompanied by abusive language similar to what had been used in the emails, referencing the rape and instructing Caitlyn to take her own life.
Shortly after this, it was sent to another WhatsApp group of student doctors, of which Caitlyn was not a member but she was made aware that the image had once again been shared to a wider group.
She was also made aware that messages had been circulating about her in private chats. Caitlyn also received abusive direct messages through her own social media accounts.
Both Caitlyn and UCD said that the image was sent to the WhatsApp groups by anonymised numbers.
Neither the sender of the emails nor the sender of the WhatsApp messages has been identified.
UCD said that it had not conducted internal investigations into the image sharing, saying that An Garda Síochána has the forensic, technical, legal expertise and powers to do this and that they were supporting them as the appropriate and competent body to carry out such an investigation.
By this point, Caitlyn says she felt that the issue had grown that it was "open season" on her, she feels that people online felt able to act without consequence.
She said that she feels "abandoned" by UCD and that things could have been different if the college had taken a firmer stance in the first instance, when the image was shared.
"It's always been at the back of my mind to imagine if after those first images were distributed, the college took a firm stance and stood with me and made it clear that this would not be tolerated."
UCD told Prime Time that "[Caitlyn] has had the full and proactive support of the Head of the University's Advisory Service for some time and several different pastoral and academic supports in the School of Medicine".
It also said the "university recognises the need to listen to the experience of the student at the heart of this case and incorporate her insights into enhancing the supports we provide our students".
Both Caitlyn and UCD acknowledged that image-based sexual abuse presents complex challenges for universities and law enforcement.
Under Ireland’s Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act — commonly known as Coco’s Law — sharing intimate images without consent is a criminal offence.
Nevertheless, this is predicated on being able to identify the perpetrators. Cases like Caitlyn’s show that once an image is circulated, it can be difficult to stop its redistribution.
In this case, the perpetrators appear to have taken significant steps to remain unidentifiable, while at the same time carrying out what seems to be a sustained and targeted campaign against Caitlyn among her peers and college staff.
Caitlyn’s studies have been paused since shortly after the alleged rape.
Prior to the image-sharing incidents, Caitlyn had taken High Court proceedings against UCD to allow her to progress in her studies after missing exams, which she said was related to the incident.
While the details of the case are complex and nuanced, the court ultimately found in favour of the university, noting that UCD had spent weeks and months attempting to find a solution.
The judgment also stated that it was ultimately a matter for UCD to decide how, or if, she could be permitted to continue or progress in her studies.
The university said there remains an open invitation for Caitlyn to meet with the Dean of the School of Medicine to discuss her options.
Caitlyn has not given up on her dream of becoming a doctor and hopes that by speaking publicly about her experience, she can contribute to change and help ensure that similar situations do not happen to others.
"I think if you asked me that question two weeks ago, the answer probably would have been yes, that I'm done, that I can't do this anymore. But since this became public, I think the dream of becoming a doctor hasn't died and that fire hasn't been put out.
"That light for me is becoming a doctor and achieving my dreams. It's not letting this horrendous ordeal ruin me. The damage that has been done to me is irreparable. I don't think I'll ever heal from all these scars. But I think me talking about it, me speaking up may help invoke change."
Conor Wilson’s full interview with 'Caitlyn,’ produced by Genevieve Brennan, is broadcast on the 3 March edition of Prime Time on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this report, support and information are available at rte.ie/helplines.
